3 Tips for Night Potty Training AND the Day 3 Potty Training
Updated: Nov 21, 2021
So, Day 3 of our Potty Training adventure was a day where we really started to see this little endeavor pay off. First of all, we noticed that his total pee and poop (PP) incidents went down from somewhere over 30 a day to 17 today! This is a sign that David is now able to hold his PP a little bit better. Today we also dipped our little toe into block three. Block three is where you go commando but on little tiny outings. We went on a nap drive and we also even went on a walk in our neighborhood! The walk was quite a success and we were all very excited!
Just a quick note about Block 3. We have been very careful about how to set up our stroller and carseat in the case of accidents. We have purchased puppy pads and placed them both in the stroller as well as in the carseat. We also have included wipes and plastic bags in both the car and the stroller in case of accidents. We also purchased a potentate (travel potty) for the car. This has already come in handy multiple times! See below for the following:
Travel Potette (notice the pee guard that actually works some of the time!)
Bags specifically made for travel pottys
Puppy Training Pads
Wipes
One thing we have noticed as we have been doing the commando block two and three with David is that the pants that previously fit him perfectly with a diaper now are too big without. So instead of wearing 2T pants or 24 month pants, we are now having to go back into those 18 month old pants, some of which I had already moved to storage. This is also good to know as you are preparing for potty training because we went out and purchased a bunch of 24 month pants for this very stage for David Michael. We specifically purchased pants that would have an elastic waist that would be easy to pull down and pull back up!
(Note the puppy pads underneath my son's tushy here in this picture)
Another hilarious thing that we noticed today is that for whatever reason, whenever David would have to pee or poop, it seemed that he was always playing with his dump truck! At one point he even looked like he was trying to pee into the back part of the dump truck! The things toddlers try… although we never refer to pooping as "taking a dump," his little actions gave me a whole new thought on taking a dump!
At one point during Day 3, our dog was barking like crazy and all of a sudden, without any warning or signal, DM just started to pee! So, to add to the list of “easy catches,” I would also include that moment when your child is surprised or scared (dog barking, loud sirens outside, smoke detector going off after you’ve burnt rice for the 5000th time 😉, you know… that kind of a thing)!
Finally, I want to share just a bit about night training. We are still struggling through night training but I am really hoping we can just get it over with at the same time so that he can just be fully potty trained! Here are a few quick notes on potty training:
1. DOUBLE UP!
I highly recommend having two sets of mattress protectors and sheets on your child’s bed ready to go.
For our son it looks like this:
Mattress protector
Sheet
Mattress protector
Sheet.
By double layering in this way, as soon as he has an accident, I can just take the top sheet and mattress protector off and he will all be ready to go right back to bed!
2. THE LAUNDRY...
The hardest thing about night training for us right now is that I have been doing so much laundry because not only does my son sleep in his own bed for the first few hours of the night, but eventually he inevitably comes in to sleep with us.
That means that we end up having a mattress protector and a sheet and a mattress protector and a sheet on both his bed and our own… My husband is also not too happy about this set up... but he gets it and we’re working on it.
3. SLEEP IMPROVEMENTS???
I have also noticed that, shockingly, my son's sleep habits have actually improved since we started this whole potty training process. Before, the only way we could get a nap out of him was to take him for a drive or to wrap him up in the baby carrier. But at nearly 30 pounds, the baby carrier was becoming increasingly more challenging for extended periods of time such as a nap.
Now that we’ve started potty training, he is, amazingly, able to actually take a nap in his own bedroom without me! Did you just read that??? IN HIS OWN BEDROOM WITHOUT ME!!!!
I have TIME! Like, a solid hour... I could do so many things! Like... laundry and dishes and scrubbing tubs! But seriously... I just have been taking long showers and well, writing this blog!
We also have noticed that he has been sleeping in his own bed for longer periods of time. For example it used to be that he would wake up around midnight and would be inconsolable until we brought him into our own bedroom. Now, he won’t wake up until around 2 AM when I come in to make him try to pee again. And even after that, he seems to want to rush back to his own bed. Anymore, he has been coming into our bedroom closer to around four or 5 AM. We even had one night where he didn’t come into the bedroom with us until 7 AM! This was a record!
So if there is no better confirmation that we are doing this at the right time and that it is completely worth it, the sleep is confirmation enough for me! Sleep, GLORIOUS sleep!
Oh, and also, because I know you are dying to see it. Here is the play-by-play from Day 3, fully equipped with my notes and the emboldened successes:
4 am no accidents, no pee but sat willingly
8 25 am - peed on potty
840 - milk
920 - finished breakfast (oatmeal, sausage, water)
1010 - peed on potty
1220 - finished steak, oatmeal, water, and smoothie
1230 - peed squatting kitchen by dump truck
Currently going with 2 ish hour periods between pees
1255 - peed in potty after squatting by dump truck
230 - peed on nap drive :(
305 - peed in pants while crying
4 - finished milk (4 oz)
4 - peed on potty naked (playing with dump truck) - grabbing crotch was cue
5 - peed in bedroom on floor
510 - pooped on bathroom floor …. (Hugged me right before… )
545 - finished oatmeal and quiche
548 - peed in potty !
Commando walk with no accidents! (One loop)
630 Pee standing by dump truck in kitchen - pee on potty
640 - POOP on potty!!! (Squatting)
645 - pee by gate when Rex barked
720 - tiny pee on potty after bath
8 pm - asleep
1039 pm - woke with accident
10 Successes!!! + 7 Accidents
For a GRAND TOTAL OF: 17 Events
Improvement! We will continue to forge ahead!